facebooknationsfandomcom-20200215-history
Free Planets Star Fleet
The Free Planets Star Fleet is the primary naval arm of the Free Planets Defense Force, itself the primary military organization of the Confederation of the New Free Planets Alliance. It is tasked with both defense of the Alliance homeland and territorial assets as well as expeditionary warfare against designated targets abroad. It is one of the largest such forces in the known galaxy by total ship count as well as manpower, and is considered in many respects to be the senior service branch of the Defense Force. The Star Fleet was first founded shortly after the arrival of the first refugees on the planet Heinessen, and in memory of their deceased founder, the first battleships constructed were of the Heinessen-class. The Star Fleet claims partial descent from the original Free Planets Star Fleet of the old Free Planets Alliance, but more specifically through the Iserlohn Republic Star Fleet and the Yang Irregulars. Prior to the establishment of the New Free Planets Alliance, the Star Fleet of the old Alliance had served for 160 years in near-continuous combat against the Galactic Empire in the great FPA-Imperial War, ultimately being defeated. Since its refounding, however, the Star Fleet has expanded preciptiously to become one of the most powerful star navies in the known galaxy. The Star Fleet is organized as a part of the Defense Force, under which it reports to the Defense Committee and the quaestor. It is led by the Space Fleet Commander, the highest ranking officer of the Star Fleet. Role The Star Fleet's role has been to act as the primary space combat branch of the Defense Force, and is one of the primary enforcers of Alliance foreign policy throughout the galaxy. While focused on ship-to-ship space combat, escort and protection of critical assets, and orbital bombardment, it also carries a naval infantry component capable of ship-boarding and planetside operations, and a fighter corps for escort. Relative to the Ground Force, the Star Fleet fields a much stronger space battle arm, but a much weaker terrestrial combat arm. Unlike some other militaries, the Defense Force has not abandoned the concept of a large ground force, but instead both contain elements of the other. Organization The Star Fleet is administered by the Defense Committee, the ranking member of which is the civilian Defense Committee Chairperson, currently Kindill Raesee Vhierra. The highest ranking naval officer is the Space Fleet Commander, a five-star officer responsible for overseeing operations at the staff level. Combat command of the Star Fleet falls to individual fleet commanders as well as combat commanders within a given theater of operations. Operating Forces The Star Fleet's deployable assets are generally divided into three groups, the expeditionary force, the defense force, and the auxiliary corps. The expeditionary force is by far the largest, and is tasked with maintaining readiness to fight wars on an offensive footing and undertake expeditionary warfare. It is compoed of some thirty-two expeditionary forces, which may be combined as needed to form larger forces. In times of emergency, it may also be tasked with assisting the defense force in repelling enemy attacks on home soil. The defense force is tasked with the primary defense of the homeland, and as such does not have the same expedtionary support as the expeditionary force, although it is also capable of offensive warfare. It is divided into separate defensive garrisons for each primary system, plus the Resource Zone and Earth. They are also responsible for the garrisoning of defensive bases in each system. The auxiliary corps contains a number of additional units, primarily unattached support, special operations, and engineering divisions, plus patrols squadrons. It can be called upon as needed to supplement the capabilities of either force. Shore Establishments Bases and other establishments are used to supplement the Star Fleet, although many installations and bases are operated by the larger defense force as joint establishments catering to Star Fleet, Ground Force, and Marine Corps personnel. Organization-wide development and support groups are generally distributed among the various higher-level commands. Strength The Star Fleet, along with the Ground Force, are the two largest branches of the Defense Force. While exact strength varies, the Star Fleet and Ground Force combined account for between 80-90% of all Defense Force personnel, the rest being assigned to the Marine Corps or in non-branch administrative positions. This presently amounts to some six billion personnel in all capacities, serving ashore and aboard ship. This amounts to nearly 22 million ships in active service, although not all are considered ready for deployment at any given time. Normally, no more than ten percent of the active-duty expeditionary force is ready to deploy, with another 20% in extended readiness, and the remainder in a longer-term reserve. This is not to be confused with the actual reserve fleet, which is composed of decommissioned warships without assigned crews. Fleets in reserve retain an active command staff as well as a small force dedicated to maintaining the ships and serving as an officer backbone when units are called up to sortie. Equipment The Star Fleet operates a large battle fleet, supplemented by defensive and support installations throughout Alliance and allied territory. Classification The names of active-service Alliance ships are prefaced with the prefix "FPS," designating "Free Planets Ship." This applies to all ships in commission in the Star Fleet and crewed by Star Fleet personnel. Ships operated by the Star Fleet but crewed by civilians have the designation "FPNS," for "Free Planets Naval Ship," although these ships are rare. In the old Alliance, ships were identified by a pennant number, with flagships receiving their fleet number plus "01" to designate their flagship status. This system was dropped in the NFPA Star Fleet, and now all ships receive a two- to-four digit hull classification, followed by an eight-digit name code, and a two-digit hull code. All ships are registed on the Navy List, although in accordance with tradition, names are held in permanent commission, the loss or retirement of one ship being immediately followed by the commissioning of another ship of the same name. Hence, no name has yet been struck from the register. Ships have their name displayed in the three languages of Alliance Standard, with their classification number displayed below, on the port and starboard forward quarter. These are repeated on the stern quarter, usually the engine cowling. Class types remain generally the same as in the old Free Planets Alliance, although when evaluating archived designs, it was decided to reclassify all ships one rank down. Hence, the large command battleships, which had been rarities in the old Star Fleet and fielded only in small numbers, were redesignated as main line battleships and produced in much larger numbers. Old line battleships, such as the Ulysses-class, were redesignated as heavy cruisers, and old cruisers like the Leda II-class became light cruisers. Design Star Fleet warships tend to have several notable design traits. Most ships tend to be of small to average size, ranging from a few hundred meters to just shy of 1.5 kilometers, although specialist ships and flagships may be much larger. Most designs were inherited from the old Star Fleet, but have been heavily modified and upgraded to take into account the latest technological advances. The most obvious external traits of Alliance warships is their drab and utilitarian design. During the FPA-Imperial War, the Alliance, with its smaller industrial and population base, was forced to rely on sheer efficiency of manufacture and operation to remain competitive with the Empire, which had the resources to spend on frivolous decorations and design features. Alliance ships are narrow, long, and rather blocky, and commonly colored drab green in normal service colors. The interior design of Alliance warships is in transition, moving from the spartan, utilitarian metal corridors of old and attempting to work in greater crew comfort measures, as well as new technologies to reduce crew fatigue and improve workflow. Ship Classes The following ship classes are currently in service with the Free Planets Star Fleet: Flagships *''Liberty''-class Flagship *''Star Union''-class Flagship Super-capital Ships *''Woglinde''-class Super-capital Ship *''Pele''-class Super-capital Ship Battleships *''Krishna''-class Heavy Assault Battleship *''Triglav''-class Heavy Battleship *''Rio Grande''-class Battleship *''Maurya''-class Fast Battleship Carriers *''Lazarus''-class Carrier Cruisers *''Muh'wäse''-class Battlecruiser *''Ulysses''-class Heavy Cruiser *''Leda II''-class Light Cruiser *''Brahman''-class Fire Support Cruiser *''Demeter''-class Missile Assault Cruiser Destroyers *''Honolulu''-class Destroyer *''Obake''-class Stealth Destroyer Support Ships *''Atlantis''-class Support Hub *''Jafnhár''-class Logistics Support Ship *''Mule''-class Engineering Vessel *''Ulithi''-class Mobile Shipyard *''Istoria''-class Assault Boarding Ship *''Diligent''-class Combat Support Tender Fleet Support Modules *''Pearl Core''-type Shield Module *''Topaz Core''-type Neutron Siege Cannon *''Ruby Core''-type Plasma Siege Cannon *''Azure Core''-type General Support Module *''Diamond Core''-type Missile Transport Module Decommissioned Ships The following ship classes have served in the Free Planets Star Fleet, but have since been decommissioned and replaced in service: *''Hyperion''-class Command Battleship *''Shiva''-class Heavy Assault Battleship Station Classes *''Daybreak II''-class Mobile Fortress *''Iserlohn III''-class Fortress *''San Diego''-class Fleet Outpost *''Lingga Roads''-class Squadron Post *''Epsilon''-class Reconnaissance Station